The Ghost Mountain Boys - James E. Campbell [3]
Goodbye Sweetheart—All my heart’s love always—Yours forever, Sam
Thursday Nite 6:00 PM.
July 30, 1942
My Sweetheart:
And how’s my Mandy this evening? Let me see, right now it is three oclock in the morning in Grand Rapids, so you should be sound asleep—wish I could tip toe in on you right at this moment honey, and take a peep in at you, I’d carefully put a kiss on your lips, your cheeks, your eyes, and your hair, and then rest my cheek against yours for awhile without awakening you, then take a good long look at you again and tip toe out.
Yours Forever, Sam
Wednesday Nite 7:50 PM.
Sept. 9, 1942
To “My One and Only:”
I’ll try my best to get my thoughts on paper, but it’s not like being with you darling, sitting across from you, watching the smile on your face, the touch of your legs under the table…I miss you love, oh God! How I miss you sometimes…All these things I’ve wanted to tell you, should have told you before I left…I hope you don’t think I’m sacriligeous but if I were offered my choice between heaven and you, I’d choose you…I’m going to say goodbye now…
Always your man, Sam
Later that night: Hello darling, here I am again. I hope the censors will let that letter go thru alright. I started out to write this letter, but wrote that one instead. I have hopes they [the censors] won’t open the previous letter, certainly no military secrets in there unless it’s a military secret…that I’m so very, very much in love with you—I’m sure tho that the japs don’t care about that.
Wed. Nite 8:00 PM.
Somewhere in New Guinea
October 14, 1942
Dearest Lover:
Oct. 14—this is the eve of two years in the army—Two years ago tomorrow we were inducted…Have been under the “weather” a little of late. Been having a little dysentery…There are an enormous amount of flies here…I suppose you wonder all about New Guinea…There are a lot of natives here. Quite a bit of sickness and disease amongst the natives…They have a lot of skin diseases and eye infections. Lot of the small children walk about with “pot” bellies due to malnutrition. Pretty near all have rickets—some have large spleens because of malaria. The men folks wear a cloth about the hips…The women folks wear a tropical grass skirt…The other day I saw a woman nursing a baby on one breast and a small pig on the other—the natives are very much tattooed. They make wonderful boatsmen…Night before last crossed a fast streaming river and two of these natives handled a small boat and took us right straight across like nothing…The women seem to do much of the work—will see a native carrying a spear coming down a path and behind him comes his wife all loaded down with fruit, coconuts, wood, etc. on her back and head, and perhaps a baby sitting on top of that holding on to her hair…
What I’m really looking forward to is the day I step on U.S. soil—what a day that will be…
Goodnight, My Mandy, Lovingly Yours, Sam
Monday Nite
New Guinea
Nov. 2, 1942
Dear Muriel:
And how’s that big daughter of mine getting along—I’ve been wondering about you so much now that you are going to school…Mommie tells me you are a big girl now. How nice you play with Ann. Do you like your baby brother?…I sure miss you Muriel, remember how you and I used to play at night in the house before you went to bed, that was loads of fun, wasn’t it? Am thinking lots about you.
Love, Your Dad
Late November 1942, Buna Coast, New Guinea:
BEFORE SETTING OUT, they smeared their faces with green paint. Loaded down with hand grenades, .30 and .45 caliber ammunition, and two days’ rations, the Americans struggled through heavy jungle and dug in just